Man accused of threatening Queen with crossbow

A man who entered Windsor Castle armed with a crossbow told police he wanted to kill the Queen, prosecutors said.

Jaswant Singh Chail, 20, is charged with treason under the UK Treason Act with intent to injure the person of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II or alarm her Majesty. He was charged with threats to kill and possession of an offensive weapon.

Chail was arrested on Christmas Day 2021 in the royal residence west of London, when the Queen was staying there.

The former supermarket worker from Southampton in southern England is accused of wearing a hood and a mask and carrying a loaded crossbow with the safety catch off.

They said he told a police officer he was here to kill the Queen, before he was handcuffed and arrested.

Prosecutor Kathryn Selby said the weapon allegedly carried by Chail had the potential to cause serious or fatal injuries. Prosecution lawyers maintain that Chail wanted to revenge on the British establishment for its treatment of Indians and sent a video to about 20 people claiming he was going to assassin the Queen.

He had tried to join the Ministry of Defence Police and the British Army to get close to the royal family, prosecutors allege.

Chail appeared in London's Westminster Magistrates' Court from Broadmoor, a high-security psychiatric hospital.

He was not asked to enter a plea and was ordered to be indicted until his next court appearance on September 14.

Ms Selby said that the allegations against him are not being treated as a terrorism offence.

Charges under the 1842 Treason Act are rare. In 1981, Marcus Sarjeant was charged with the act after firing blank shots at the Queen as she rode on horseback in the Trooping the Colour parade in London.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison.